


The Beauty of Fall

by literaryoblivion



Series: Freck's Inktober [1]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, College, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Photography, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-10-01
Packaged: 2019-07-23 09:35:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16156391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/literaryoblivion/pseuds/literaryoblivion
Summary: While everywhere in the US experiences the seasons in some way, shape, or form, certain areas are better displays of certain seasons than others. Summer is best on the sandy beach in California, winters in Colorado in a snowy ski cabin are ideal, and fall in New England is picture-perfect.Bitty tells Jack this as they walk to Faber, and Jack suggests a place to take Bitty and his camera that has beautiful colors on its leaves.





	The Beauty of Fall

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first installment of my "Inktober" writing series I'm doing for the month of October. Please note if you follow this series, there will be various pairings/fandoms, although Jack/Bitty do show up a few more times in the month.
> 
> Also, this takes place during Jack's senior year, but I'm just pretending that he and Bitty are already in love they just haven't admitted it yet...

While everywhere in the US experiences the seasons in some way, shape, or form, certain areas are better displays of certain seasons than others. Summer is best on the sandy beach in California, winters in Colorado in a snowy ski cabin are ideal, and fall in New England is picture-perfect. 

Of course, other areas’ residents might be biased, and sure, it’s a rather subjective concept in general. And as much as Bitty misses his home in Georgia (whose best season might be the sliver of spring when it’s cool right before it gets hot and muggy in the summer), he will always prefer the cool breeze through the changing fall leaves as he walks to class at Samwell. It’s like he can smell the change in the air, although that might be the pumpkin spice lattes he’s always getting (or being given), and he informs Jack of this while they are walking across the bridge to Faber for morning practice.

“There’s a place a few minutes from campus that has some great colors on the leaves. I’ve been meaning to photograph them. Maybe we can go later? I can show you?” Jack asks hesitantly, shoving his hands in his jean pockets like he’s cold, although Bitty knows his Canadian blood can withstand much lower temperatures.

“That would be lovely, Jack. I don’t have class this afternoon,” Bitty hints, hoping Jack will offer to take him to this special place, both because he wants to see it and because he always wants to spend more time with Jack alone.

As if considering this, Jack nods, “I should be back at the Haus around three?”

Bitty desperately wants to say ‘It’s a date’ but restrains himself. “I’ll be there!” he says instead with a smile.

~

By the time three o’clock nears, Bitty is a nervous wreck. With no afternoon class to distract him and the severe lack of motivation to study, he’s baked up a storm in an attempt to keep himself occupied while he waited for Jack. He definitely doesn’t mind baking and making the Haus smell like pumpkin spice goodness, but he’s positive Betsy has not been pleased with the workload.

He’s pulling out the last batch of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies when Jack comes into the kitchen, backpack slung over one shoulder.

“Those smell good,” Jack says, nodding his head at the tray Bitty had just set on the counter, which makes Bitty beam. “I just need to drop my bag off upstairs and get my camera, then we can go?” He points with his thumb over his shoulder then adds, gesturing to the cookies, “We should take some of those with us.”

Bitty laughs. “Yes, sir. I’ll pack some up.”

With one last smile, Jack disappears upstairs. When he comes back, Bitty has a small bag prepared with some water bottles and a few cookies and hand-pies that were cool. He doesn’t bother putting the other sweets that are still cooling away because he knows they’ll be gone by the time he and Jack come back, whether he hid them or not. These hockey boys didn’t care if they burned their mouths if it meant more deliciousness.

Jack insists on walking to the spot he’d mentioned. It’s nice enough out, and Bitty’s got a thick sweater on, so he should be okay. It’s a pleasant walk, and they talk about their classes, some new recipes Bitty’s found to try, the frogs that seem to be improving (Jack, ever the captain). Every once in a while Jack stops to take a few pictures as they walk, anything that seems to strike him as worthy of his lens. Bitty doesn’t mind and is glad that Jack has this creative side to him that he’s willing to share and have him help with.

They pass a few people as they walk through and off of campus, but once they’re clear of Samwell, it’s fairly quiet with no one else around aside from a few cars that drive by. It’s wonderful and peaceful, and Bitty can’t help but imagine what it’d be like to walk like this with Jack all the time, shoulders brushing, calm conversation flowing… intertwined hands swinging gently between them as they go.

He feels his face flush with the image, and he hopes that Jack can’t see it or that he thinks it’s from the cool breeze outside. Jack guides Bitty with a hand on the small of his back to the left, and once they turn the corner a small grove of trees come into view. There’s a winding path between the trees and what look to be street lamps scattered along the path, although it’s still day time so they aren’t on yet.

The trees are beautiful; the leaves are various shades of red and orange and gold, some still have spots of green, other spots of brown, and several have leaves that fall with every small gust of wind that rustles through them.

“What do you think?” Jack asks after a few moments of them standing near the start of the path.

“It’s amazing, Jack! No wonder you wanted to take some pictures here. I’m sure they’ll turn out gorgeous, honey.”

Jack smiles, nodding slightly, as he brings his camera up to start taking pictures more earnestly than while they had been walking. Bitty decides to leave him to it, walking further along the path to see more of the trees. He doesn’t realize Jack’s actually following him until he spots a pile of leaves nearby and turns to call to Jack.

“Oh,” he says with a small chuckle. “You’re here.”

“I’m here,” Jack says softly.

“I kind of want to jump in that pile of leaves.”

“You should do it, then.”

Bitty bites his bottom lip slightly in hesitation and then grins mischievously. With a shout, he runs and jumps into the pile. He’s vaguely aware of the sound of a shutter going off behind him, but he doesn’t pay it any attention. 

He laughs and kicks the leaves around, reveling in the crunching sound beneath his feet as he swishes through the leaves. It makes him feel like a child, jumping around in the leaves, and on instinct, he gathers up several handfuls of them and throws them up in the air, laughing and smiling at the sky as he watches the colors in the air floating for a brief moment almost before they fall down around him.

He looks up at Jack, who’s had his camera to his face almost the whole time, clicking quickly as Bitty had played in the pile. He smiles sheepishly at him, and he feels breathless as Jack slowly lowers his camera to stare at Bitty. It’s not a look he recognizes ever having seen on his captain’s face, and it makes Bitty nervous, not being able to tell what Jack is feeling and unconsciously displaying on his face.

Jack slowly steps closer to him, letting go of his camera so it’s held around his shoulder by its strap. The nearer Jack gets, the more Bitty is anxious about what he will say, what he’ll do.

“That was rather silly, huh?” Bitty says with a self-deprecating laugh.

Jack smiles and shakes his head, finally coming to stop so he’s directly in front of Bitty, so close that Bitty can feel the warmth of his body, just has to take a fraction of a step until he’s pressed against Jack.

“You have, uh,” Jack says before reaching out and plucking something off the top of Bitty’s head, a leaf. He slowly brings it up between them, twirling it by its stem between his fingers.

“Oh,” Bitty says, cheeks getting hot and, he’s sure, flaming red. “Thanks.” He smiles up at Jack and moves to take the leaf from Jack’s fingers, but Jack doesn’t let go, and they end up holding the leaf together, Jack’s hand warm and big beneath Bitty’s.

“Um,” Jack says, his cheeks equally flushing as much as Bitty’s sure his are.

“Jack, I…” Bitty says, although he’s not sure what he was going to say.

“Bittle, you’re… I think…” Jack takes a breath, closing his eyes slightly before opening them again to stare at Bitty with an intensity that Bitty usually only ever sees on the ice. “Bitty, you’re gorgeous.”

Bitty can feel his whole face heat, and his eyes are wide with shock because he was not expecting Jack to say that at all.

“I, wow, thank you, sweetie. You’re, uh… I think you’re pretty gorgeous yourself.” Bitty knows his voice is quiet, and he’s looking down at their feet because he can’t bring himself to look at Jack.

He feels Jack take the hand that’s holding the leaf, and brings it down, letting go of the leaf so he can squeeze Bitty’s fingers. Then, Jack uses his other hand to touch Bitty’s chin and brings his face back up to meet his eyes.

“Can I kiss you, Bits?” Jack asks in a whisper, thumb softly stroking Bitty’s jawline.

Bitty can’t even speak, air caught in his throat, so he just nods in answer, and then Jack leans down and presses his lips to his.

It’s a light pressure at first, almost hesitant, like Bitty might suddenly change his mind and push Jack away, but there’s no way that will ever happen. Bitty has been imagining kissing Jack for months now, and now that it’s actually happening, there’s no way he’s backing away from it. He pushes into Jack, leaning up on his toes for a better height, lips a little more insistent, his arms coming up around Jack’s neck.

Finally he can feel Jack relax, bring his own arms around Bitty’s waist and pull him in closer. When they break apart, they’re both grinning and breathless. They can’t seem to stop staring at each other, so they don’t. Bitty’s sure that if anyone were to see them, they would think they were crazy and weird, love-sick fools. He doesn’t really care though because he and Jack kissed, and it was wonderful and perfect and he can’t wait to do it again.

“There’s a, uh, bench a little further down,” Jack says as they come back down to earth, pulling away from each other slightly. Jack takes his hand, threads their fingers together, and walks Bitty over to the bench.

They sit and talk, snack on the treats that Bitty had brought, and Jack takes a few more pictures. After some insistence, Jack finally lets Bitty see the pictures he took on the small display of his camera.

It doesn’t take long for Bitty to realize that almost all the pictures are of him; there’s a few of the trees, of the falling leaves, but most feature Bitty’s smile, his blush as he laughs, his nose as he looks up at the leaves he had thrown in the air, the leaf that had landed in his hair before Jack had taken it out.

“I thought you wanted to take pictures of the leaves?” Bitty says, snuggled up to Jack on the bench. They’ll have to go soon, the sun is going down and it’s getting colder because of it.

Jack shrugs. “I found a better subject. The leaves are pretty, but you in the leaves? Way better.”

“Oh, honey,” Bitty says, lovingly shoving Jack in the side. Jack looks down at him with a grin, like he knows how cheesy and sappy he was just then, and Bitty wants to kiss him so bad.

So he does.

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi on [my tumblr](http://literaryoblivion.tumblr.com) or [my twitter](http://twitter.com/lit_oblivion).


End file.
